From Ivy League schools to community colleges and various branches of the military, there are many continuing education options out there for graduating high school seniors and many choices to make.

There are books, blog posts and campus tours, but knowing what to look for is an overwhelming task for any student.

The guidance department at Cranston High School East is well aware of the difficult task at hand for their seniors. That’s why they’ve offered their “Reverse College Day” at East for at least 15 years running.

A different sort of homecoming experience, the guidance department invites their most recent graduates – now college freshmen or soon-to-be military servicemen and women – to return to their alma mater and impart the wisdom they’ve gained thus far about the post-secondary experience on to the current seniors.

As the Cranston East seniors sat in the Media Center, the recent graduates told it like it is, giving the seniors the low-down on what they wished they’d known, what they like and don’t like about their new situation, and what advice they could already pass along. The more than 40 returning students were broken up into groups to speak, representing in-state schools, schools in the New England, schools outside the region, community colleges and the military.

The three most common recurring themes in the student speeches revolved around the quality of campus food, money – or the lack thereof – and the need to get used to dormitory bathrooms.

“The freedom is great. The ability to make your own schedule, to have early classes or late classes, I love that,” said Brendan Furney, a freshman at Rhode Island College. “But you’re on your own to make sure you go to class. I missed a class and missed a really important lecture. I was studying for the exam later on, thinking, ‘Did we learn this? Oh yeah, it was probably the day I missed class.’”

Furney liked the price of tuition at RIC, noting that with scholarships he’s paying only $1,000 for his tuition and won’t leave college with any debt. As a commuter, he liked having his own bed, own shower and control over his own food.

He didn’t like the basic classes or the seminars, and advised the seniors to research their schools.

Zach Sailer, also a student at RIC, liked the smaller atmosphere at the college, but disliked living on campus and became a commuter as well.

“After six weeks, it was terrible. I had a bad roommate, the food was bad,” he said. “If you have Mr. Ruggiero, you’ll be thanking him. My writing classes here helped me a lot. My professors at RIC are helpful. If I had any advice, I’d say assert yourself.”

Josh Nerney, now a freshman in the culinary arts program at Johnson & Wales Harborside campus, told the seniors that he wished he’d taken more advantage of the culinary arts program available through the Cranston Area Career and Technical Center (CACTC) housed on the Cranston High School West campus, but available to students at East and the surrounding cities as well. He also advised the students on the very real costs of college.

“My advice to you is to save your money,” he said. “You’re going to spend money, you’re going to go out. Be aware. I commute to school because it’s very expensive to live on campus.”

Johnathan Caron, a commuter student at RIC, encouraged the students to take advantage of the Advanced Placement, or AP, courses offered in high school.

“Take AP courses so that you get rid of your general education classes. They’re not that much more difficult, and college courses on campus are so expensive,” he said.

Bryant University finance major Jacob Rich emphasized the importance of applying for scholarships.

“If I was you guys now, I’d apply for more scholarships,” he said. “I’d do my applications as early action, since that’s when most of the money is given out.”

Rich said he liked the size of the Bryant campus quite a bit, and liked that he made new friends easily.

“It’s a good size, about 4,000 students, and at the end of the first semester, I already know lots of people,” he said. “What I don’t like is the food and showering with flip flops on.”

Fellow Bryant student Allison Roca, an international business/accounting student, told the East seniors to thoroughly research their chosen school.

“I didn’t even know there was an international business program at Bryant until the week before,” she said.

As a commuter, she doesn’t like getting up early to take the bus to school for her 9 a.m. classes, and she does not have a car at her disposal. She whole-heartedly agreed with Rich about the importance of scholarships.

“I can’t stress enough how important it is to apply for scholarships. I didn’t do that. Start now,” she said.

Emely Anico, a freshman at Brown University, was hard-pressed to think of anything she didn’t love about her new school.

“I like everything about it. I live on campus, the dorms are beautiful. All the freshman dorms have been renovated. There are no [general education] classes, just major requirements, and your major is flexible. I could do something like engineering and theater if I want to. There are only four classes a semester because there are no gen eds. The classes are hard, but I felt very prepared, and there hasn’t been anything unexpected,” she said. “The food’s not great, but everything else is great, so I can deal with the food. If I had to advise anything, I’d say to send in the [Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA] form as soon as you can, on Jan. 1. Apply for lots of scholarships. Definitely save your money. It’s hard to keep up at Brown. There are a lot of rich people there who are used to spending more money. The College Center at the Warwick Mall is also a great resource, and so many people don’t even know it’s there. Take advantage of it.”

Michael Rodriguez echoed the sentiments of many alumni. A student at Anna Maria College in Massachusetts, Rodriguez said the one thing he wished he’d known was just how expensive his college of choice was, to the point where he is considering transferring to something less expensive in the future.

“If I could give you any advice, I’d say this: Don’t judge a book by its cover,” he said. “Research your school, apply for scholarships. My books alone cost $250, $300 each. Start good habits now. Study, stay awake, be prepared. Become best friends with the financial aid people.”

Sam Stevens, a freshman at Wheaton College, gave his school – a smaller institution of about 1,600 students – mixed reviews.

“I like the freedom. The food is repetitive, but not bad. I like the professors, the campus is pretty, but it’s not in a great location in Norton. It’s hard to get around without a car, and I need to get a car,” he said. “If you can, get work study. Apply for that ASAP because jobs are limited. Apply for as many scholarships as you can because now I wish I’d gotten more. Get used books. They’re cheaper and often times they’re already highlighted for you. Sleep whenever and wherever you can.”

Madison Borelli, another Wheaton student, had great things to say about the school, enjoying the smaller class sizes of approximately 15 students and an entire freshman class of only about 400 students.

“You really get to know your professors. You have lots of great opportunities that you wouldn’t get at a larger school,” she said. “The dorms are really nice, the rooms are big, and my roommate and I both have walk-in closets. The campus is gorgeous, but it’s disgusting and horrible how expensive it is to be there. I’d say keep an open mind when choosing schools and don’t get stuck on just one school.”

Wen Wen Chen, a student at Northeastern University, loved the college town atmosphere of Boston.

“You meet lots of other students from other colleges, other cultures, other backgrounds, and there’s always something going on,” Chen said. “They have a co-op program there and from Day One you’re preparing for a career. You have two, half-year internships doing something you love.”

What Chen doesn’t love is the communal bathroom set-up at the school.

“You get used to it, but I don’t love it,” she said. “If I could give you advice, I’d say take lots of AP credits, and if you’re in a city school, learn the transit system so that you can get around.”

Arianna Mickelson had a completely different perspective for the seniors, unique to any other speaker in the room to that point.

“I applied to seven colleges for a medical doctoral program. I was accepted to all seven colleges with scholarships,” she said. “But I did the math, I added it all up and I was going to end up with at least $65,000 in college debt by the end, even with those scholarships. It was just too expensive.”

After much deliberation and exploration of her options, Mickelson decided to join the military instead, serving her country and reaping the benefits granted to those who serve.

“I’m leaving in 21 days for basic training in San Antonio, Texas. I enlisted in the Air Force for six years. I’ll receive my medical training there and I can take classes nights and weekends – eight-week classes, two at a time, and only pay for my books, yet I’ll be paid for being there,” she said. “I’ll receive medical benefits, my GI Bill can be signed over to my dependents, I’ll qualify for lower mortgage rates. I wish I’d explored the military more before deciding on college.”

Alexis Howard quickly learned how a college community can pull together in a time of crisis during her first semester at Florida State University in Tallahasse, where a shooting in the campus library occurred just before the Thanksgiving holiday.

“There are over 40,000 students there, and the next day everyone came together like a family,” she said. “There were four different vigils there. No students were killed, but it was one of the worst tragedies imaginable.”

Howard spoke about her love for the campus despite the fact that a shooting had just taken place, an event that she believes can happen on any campus anywhere, and she’s thankful that her campus security officers can carry guns on campus, a fact that she believed was instrumental in the shooter being taken down so quickly.

“There are so many people from so many different places and there are amazing opportunities on our campus, like a circus that’s run by students and a bowling alley,” she said. “The food is fantastic. We have Chick-fil-A, Subway, Chili’s and three dining halls. All the tickets to the football games are free and the school pride is amazing.”

Despite the fact that the school is located in Florida, Howard said that the weather can be chilly, at times dipping down as low as 40 degrees, but also spiking to as high as 115 degrees.

“If I had to give any advice, I’d say look for scholarship money. Next year my family is moving to Florida so I’ll be able to claim in-state tuition, which means my tuition will drop from $20,000 a year down to $6,000 a year. I only looked for scholarship money at the last minute, and I wished I’d used more,” she said. “My parents have to pay to fly me home every time. I wasn’t supposed to come home now because I’m coming home in about a week and a half, but because of the shooting, they flew me home now.”

Three students who returned to speak at East were pursuing two-year programs at the Community College of Rhode Island. All agreed that the break in tuition for the general education classes alone was a major benefit. The ability to go to school virtually debt-free and still be able to finish up at schools such as Providence College, Rhode Island College the University of Rhode Island and beyond held great appeal to these freshmen.

“There are so many thing that I like,” Stephen Manning said. “There is so much help available if you need it. There is a free, outstanding tutoring service on campus, as much help as you need, free with your tuition. I don’t love commuting, though. I take three different RIPTA buses each day just to get to school. If I had any advice to you, I’d say go the cheap way, and while you’re there get every kind of help you need.”

Hekmet Haddada agreed with Manning.

“Originally I’d committed to a college that was $20,000 a year, but this is much cheaper. It’s less than $1,000 for a whole year, and that’s including my books,” Haddada said. “There’s a lot of resources, and a great library on campus. It’s a good community college. You can use this opportunity as a tool to do anything you want after CCRI.”